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Tell me about them.
I was talking to a guy who has one on saturday. He loves his and I now have a bee in my bonnet about buying one.
Pros'
Cons'
Best place to buy?
I was talking to someone who has one of the earlier ones, and they're apparently quite flexible... I'd love a go on one 🙂
I had a Mk2 or Mk3 (forget which) - loved it. Belt driven - despite being guaranteed for 10,000 miles I managed to snap one. Their customer service was fantastic - got a whole new bike out of it!
great for pootling around on - not sure I'd fancy doing lots of hilly miles on one but for my old commute - a couple of miles either end of a train ride, it was fantastic. The fold is really, really quick and it'd stand either behind my seat on the train, underneath the seats or worse case scenario you could stand (and use it as a rest). No problems on the tube either. Well designed and (belt aside) seemed to be really robust too. I ended up asking Strida for some business cards to hand out to people - I must have been asked about it at least 2 or 3 times a week.
Can't say I noticed any flex (and I'm not exactly light either).
Loved it and were I still doing a similar route I'd have kept it.
EDIT: Oh, and I bought direct from Strida themselves - as mentioned above, great service.
What's the stability like?
no problems that I can remember - little wheels so a little skittish but nothing untoward...
Compared to a brompton they are joke... but some seem to get on well with them...
Compared to a brompton they are joke... but some seem to get on well with them...
In what way? My old one was certainly well put together and I had no maintenance issues unlike a colleagues Brompton that required a fair bit of fettling. Can't say I found the Strida any worse to ride than the Brompton I borrowed for a months worth of commuting. I'm sure you've got some solid experience of both bikes in order to make such a judgement - I'd be interested to hear exactly why you think it's a joke (admittedly the appearance is a little 'marmite', some people love it, some hate it)
I'm not entirely sure that it bears comparison to be honest - against my current Joey Airnimal Explorer I could say that a Brompton would be a joke for my current commute but then they're two entirely different beasts.
They've gone up a bit (I think mine was £350 new) but the standard Strida is about £400 compared with what, about £750 for the cheapest Brompton? That's a fair difference...
I have done the c2c on my brompton, it is a proper bike, has the best fold and has a decent luggage system. Yes a joey rides better but has a poor fold. As for the strida, it is too low geared, poor range of adjustment for tall riders, flexi and when folded it is unstable.... I must admit quite fun to ride, but only in they way that any bike can be fun for a few mins. Just my opinion, but in London numbers of bromptons to striders is telling. If a brompton is too expensive the a Dahon or giant half way would be a better bet. Advice to the op would have a go on one and make your own mind up. Strida 5 are £480 online. Si
brompton, proper bike! don't make me laugh sonny jim.
strida's are fun, but get used to being stared at if you ride one!
Compared to most folding bikes Bromptons are a joke.
Each to his own.... Si
Each to his own.... Si
indeed. I never got on that well with the Brompton - for the money I found the Dahons were a better alternative but got tired of doing 10 hilly miles each way on it so went for the Joey which is not so much of a folder but more of a 'proper' bike.
Personally I'd say the ratio of Strida > Brompton is as much to do with availability (ie. it's not stocked in Evans and gang) and longevity - Bromptons have been around for years. I see a lot more Strida bikes now that I did 3 years ago when I had mine.
And the base model is currently 478 EUR which is about £415, still a significant discount over a Brompton. A very different machine but certainly a lot cheaper.
strida's are fun, but get used to being stared at if you ride one!
+1
I was looking for a folding bike around 2002, I tried Brompton, Strida and a few overs.
My opinion was that the Brompton ride quality was head & shoulders above other compact folders.
The Strida was one of the worse; a very flexible frame coupled with an overly upright position and a head angle that was a function of the fold made for a very unstable ride. (I've heard that they've improved since)
The Strida is a very cleaver design, much like those Stark juicers that look really good in your kitchen but gets juice all over your work top if you try to use it.
I ended up with an [url= http://www.airnimal.eu/Chameleon/PerformanceSp.php ]Airnimal[/url] as the ride was far more important to me than the foldability
Before I got my brompton 5 years ago now, I did lots and lots of test rides and loan bikes. Really liked airnimal, but in the end went for a brompton as I fold at least 8 times a day and have to use packed trains. I my opinion in is the best all round option. Not to say it has been trouble free though.... most of the bike has been replaced either through wear or breakage but brompton customer service is good (you can speak direct to the factory). As note if anyone on here uses South West Trains you can get a brompton from them from £2 a week... Si
Also would say that as with any bike get a proper test ride... any bike will feel different compared to your usual stead... a ride round a car park is not enough to get used to a bike so you can see if you like it. This is especially so if trying folders.